Babbitt

The district court properly dismissed this case because it was and is moot.

I. FACTS

This ease arises from an attempt by the Department of Interior to facilitate gold dredging on the floor of Norton Sound, the protrusion from the Bering Sea near Nome, Alaska. The seabed is called the “outer continental shelf.” The outer continental shelf is certain land on the bed of the sea more than three miles seaward from the coastline. 43 U.S.C. § 1331 (a). “The area of the shelf off Alaska is estimated to contain 600,000 square miles, an area almost as large as Alaska itself.” 1953 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1385, 1390. The plaintiffs seek to control the money which may come from mineral extraction in this vast area.

On June 18, 1991, the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior issued a notice that it was accepting bids for the right to lease areas of Norton Sound for gold dredging. Plaintiffs immediately sued for an injunction prohibiting leases and a declaratory judgment establishing their rights to the minerals at the proposed lease site. The complaint alleged interference with aboriginal rights if the lease was granted. The complaint does not claim money damages or any other…